Blood: The Third Course

Chapter Forty

"I'm still not sure about this."

August crouched beside Spencer and laid a hand on his thigh. Gripping the muscle hard, August met Spencer's wince with a knowing smirk. His grip was able to bring a grin to Spencer's lips, but it didn't last. Within moments, the grin vanished, and Spencer was back to glancing at Edeline every few moments.

"I've never fought a werewolf," he added. "I don't know how to..."

Edeline cocked her head to the side, but her gaze was distant. She was silent, gazing off into nothing, and then she nodded as if something had been settled. Her gaze didn't waver or focus as she opened her mouth.

"Vince is big, and he's strong," she said, her voice monotone, like she were reading the information from a book. "But he's not fast. He will use brute force, and it will be relatively crude attacks. He will be obvious."

Spencer leaned forwards, laying his hand over August's and clinging on as he shifted towards Edeline.

"Obvious?" he asked.

Her head twitched, her lips moving, but no sound came out. Spencer's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"Carson. He's still in the front of the van."

August stared at the solid partition, frowning.

"Why doesn't he come back here and speak for himself?"

Edeline just shook her head and didn't answer. Her lips moved without sound again.

"Can he hear you?" Spencer asked.

"A little, and only if I yell each word very slowly," she said, her gaze focusing just long enough to grin at them.

"I heard that!" Carson shouted back through the partition.

Edeline chuckled. She rubbed her fingers against the bandage around her wrist, drifting back into contemplative silence.

"Vince will go for obvious attacks, whatever is closest and easiest," she said finally. "Legs, arms, attacks that cause pain but don't kill immediately. He already likes playing with his food."

"You know this after only one night with him?" Spencer asked.

Edeline repeated the question silently. After a moment of waiting, she nodded.

"We have hunting rules. You should only catch once, let others hunt. His first night, Vince caught all three runners. He took them down and didn't bother feeding before going to the next."

"Maybe he just didn't know the rules," William said from the furthest shadows of the van.

Edeline shook her head.

"He knew. He didn't care," she said. "It should have been the first warning that something wasn't right. Even new wolves hang back at first, watch how it's done."

"Zeke," Priya said quietly.

Everyone turned to her. Even Edeline brought herself out of her silent conversation with Carson to watch Priya thoughtfully. Priya blushed and shifted closer to William.

"Zeke was the latest to join us. He's one of the fastest in the pack, but he rarely catches because he's watching how others do it, learning."

"Vince believes he knows better," Spencer said. "He's been around the wolves so long, he thinks he has learned enough."

Edeline huffed and shook her head.

"We're getting off track," August said.

He moved between Spencer and Edeline, shifting onto his knees and only looking at Spencer. He took his face in his hands, ensuring Spencer looked at only him.